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Meghan And Brian's Elegant Black And White Downtown Saint Paul MN Wedding At The Lowlands / January 17, 2024 by Bradley Hanson

I’m caught up with 2023, my busiest year in a decade, and finally able to share one of the best weddings of the year. The groom, Brian, is a well-known photographer in Atlanta, specializing in head shots. The bride, Meghan, is a talented makeup artist in Atlanta. We met for coffee before the wedding while they were in the Minneapolis area and clicked immediately, no pun intended.

Their wedding was unique in a number of ways, but most notably, all of the decor, from the tables to the walls, invites, clothing and details, was black and white. Normally wearing one of my many blue suits, I got a black suit specific to this wedding so I could remain as inconspicuous as a 6’2” photographer can be.

Coordination and design was done by the talented Heidi Almendinger of Jenna Culley Events, and hair was by the always stellar Hair By Sitha, who I’ve had the good fortune of working with probably a dozen times over the past couple years alone.

Everything took place at a new, modern and minimalist wedding venue right on the Mississippi River on the outskirts of downtown Saint Paul, MN. I really loved the venue and can’t wait to photograph there again. The only bump in the road was torrential rain akin to what one might expect in Florida that scuttled my grandiose plans for photographs of the couple during the cocktail hour, but the timing was nearly perfect as it occurred after photographing the family, moments before the start of the ceremony, which took place indoors anyway.

The gallery images below were chosen not only from the pool of favorites, but to give a sense of what it was like to be at The Lowlands on that day. In the spirit of their chiaroscuro contrasty design intentions, I’ve chosen to only share B&W images.

Vendors from Meghan and Brian’s wedding:

Venue: The Lowlands

Beauty: Lady Vamp Artistry - Sitha Kim (hair), Laura Seaboy (makeup), Rob Hinderstein (tattoo cover)

Bridal Fashion: White Magnolia Bridal Collection

Cake: Queen of Cake

Catering: Green Mangos

Entertainment: Rock With U (Band) & Jennifer Marlin Illustration (Fashion Artist)

Floral: Wilderland Floral (Jamie Spellerberg)

Groom's Attire: Red Label Bespoke

Officiant: Melinda Guess

Photography: Bradley Hanson Photography

Rentals & Decor: Linen Effects, Collected & Co, AVEX & Girl Friday

Stationery: Minted

Transportation: Renee's Limousine & Unparalleled Parking

Travel & Accommodations: The St. Paul Hotel, Hyatt Place St. Paul/Downtown, Loews Minneapolis

Videographer: Cooper Films & Love Stream (live streaming)

Wedding Planner & Event Design: Jenna Culley Events (Heidi Almendinger)

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings, elopements, and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading.

To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right of the page).

Kelsey and Chase Autumn Riverfront Elopement In Minneapolis / November 8, 2022 by Bradley Hanson

Kelsey and Chase had a very quiet elopement. I met them at the Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis (North Loop) to photograph them getting ready. We then went straight to the government building for their vows outside with the judge.

While photographing them on a bridge at Nicollet Island Inn, Chase bumped into the group of bicyclists he regularly rides with, a complete coincidence and entirely unplanned.

After the ceremony, Kelsey and Chase hosted a casual brunch at LynHall on Lyndale Ave in Minneapolis that included great food and Jenga! No dancing or traditional reception events, just a nice meal with friends.

“We are a Tinder love story, and had our first date walking around St Anthony Main in 2015 - so it’s especially fun that we had some of our pics from the wedding day there! Chase proposed to me on the Stone Arch Bridge - he made me bike there with him so he had an excuse to bring a backpack because the ring box wouldn’t fit in his pocket. As far as planning the wedding - just that we wanted it to be intimate and low-key and couldn’t be more thrilled about how the day turned out.”

Now this is the proper reaction to seeing your partner on your wedding day!

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I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph).

My Interview By The World's Best Wedding Photos / August 12, 2021 by Bradley Hanson

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I was just interviewed in World's Best Wedding Photos about how I got started in Seattle shooting weddings on film, how I work, and why I never ended up delivering pizzas. They also selected some of their favorite photographs of mine. If you’d like to read the entire interview and see the accompanying gallery, click here.

Another One Of My Wedding Photographs Was Featured On The World's Best Wedding Photos / June 17, 2021 by Bradley Hanson

One of my images was featured by the website World’s Best Wedding Photos, along with other wedding images that are on the theme of fathers because of Father’s Day in 3 days . You can see the entire article by clicking here.

Another One Of My Wedding Photographs From Film Was Just Featured On The World's Best Wedding Photos / March 31, 2021 by Bradley Hanson

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One of my images, taken when I was still shooting all film and focusing manually, was featured by the website World’s Best Wedding Photos, along with other wedding images that are classic wedding/bridal portraits. You can see the entire article by clicking here.

Yes, It Is Possible To Get Married During The Pandemic In Minneapolis And St. Paul Minnesota / February 17, 2021 by Bradley Hanson

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In March of 2020, I was about to photograph a wedding in Negril, Jamaica. At that time, the Covid-19 pandemic was clearly snowballing to the point that flights began to be restricted. Those clients eloped in their living room in Vermont, while the rest of my clients began looking for alternative dates for 2021. Almost all of the 2020 weddings either canceled or rescheduled their weddings for mid 2021 and it was clear that 2020 would be not only a year we’d never forget, but a rocky road for restaurants, small businesses and the self-employed like artists and craftsmen.

I just received this review on Google:

“Planning a wedding during a pandemic is definitely difficult. Having vendors who do their best to make your life easier, like Bradley did, becomes top priority. From start to finish, I cannot express how much we appreciated Bradley and his quick wit and talents. During our engagement photoshoot it became evident that he was willing to go the extra mile to make sure the photos reflected our personalities and our relationship as a whole, venturing to a nearby park so we could include our passion of canoeing. He was such a sport about any of our crazy ideas. I never had to worry about communication or updates from Bradley, he was very proactive. Knowing how busy our wedding day would be, he knew to ask ahead of time what photos were a priority to us. His eye for a great shot was the icing on the cake!

On top of his obvious skill behind a camera came what I would argue is even more important than that: his ability to make everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera. Not everyone enjoys getting their picture taken, but you would never guess that from the interactions our small guest list had with him. Everyone enjoyed having Bradley around, he was a fantastic addition to our small family gathering. We are so appreciative of Bradley and his capturing our day so perfectly. With a quick photo turnaround we were able to relive the day sooner than we had even anticipated! I could not recommend Bradley highly enough. You cannot go wrong with this very talented photographer!” - Elizabeth and Thad

The current rules for weddings in Minnesota, as of this writing, are much less restrictive than they were even a month ago. During the current Polar Vortex, no one is getting married outside here, so we will ignore those rules, but for indoor weddings that are serving food and drinks, the only limitation is that masks and social distancing are required, and the number of guests is limited to 50% capacity.